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Saturday, December 28, 2013

The New Year 2014 falls on Wednesday and is approaching and people are
busy with their plans to celebrate the advent of the day with their own
unique ideas.

New Year marks the beginning of a new Gregorian calendar year. Celebrated
universally every year on January 1 in various innovative ways, the
trend to observe this date as an important day in the calendar has
spread globally.

People around the world have been celebrating the start of each
new year. Most New Year’s festivities
begin on December 31, New Year’s Eve, the last day of the Gregorian
calendar, and continue into the early hours of January 1, New Year’s
Day. People are attending parties, eating special New
Year’s foods, making resolutions for the new year and watching fireworks
displays. People at midnight hold special events, entertaining activities and grand celebrations to welcome the New Year.

New Year's Day is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar used in the Roman Empire since 45 BC. Romans originally dedicated New Year's Day to Janus, the god of gates, doors, and beginnings for whom the first month of the year (January) is named. Later, as a date in the Gregorian calendar of Christendom, New Year's Day liturgically marked the Feast of the Circumcision of Christ, and is still observed as such in the Anglican Church and Lutheran Church. In present day, with most countries now using the Gregorian calendar as their de facto calendar, New Year's Day is probably the world's most celebrated public holiday, often observed with fireworks at the stroke of midnight as the new year starts in each time zone.

In many regions of the world, it is celebrated as a public holiday and the offices, institutions and commercial activities remain closed to observe Happy New Year. Sending
New Year cards carrying beautiful quotes is relatively a modern
practice which is much popular. People exchange New Year Greeting cards
to send warm New Year wishes that are easily available both in stores.
Many prefer to scour for innovative and lovely New Year gifts and cards
to send warm New Year greetings to their family members and friends.
Apart from sending sending cards and gfifts the event is also celebrated
by arranging luscious feast that includes various delicious handmade
items.

Malayalam New Year, Puthuvarsham, പുതുവത്സരം, is celebrated either on the 1st day of the month of Medam in mid-April which is known as Vishu or the 1st day of the month of Chingam,in the Malayalam Calendar in mid-August according to another reckoning. Unlike most other calendar systems in India, the New Year's Day on the Malayalam Calendar is not based on any astronomical event. It is just the first day of the first of the twelve months on the Malayalam Calendar. The Malayalam Calendar (called Kollavarsham) originated in 825 CE, based on general agreement among scholars, with the re-opening of the city of Kollam (on Malabar Coast), which had been destroyed by a natural disaster.

Most countries in Western Europe officially adopted January 1 as New Year's Day somewhat before they adopted the Gregorian calendar. In England, until the adoption of the Gregorian calendar in 1752, the first day of the new year was the Feast of the Annunciation on March 25, also called "Lady Day". The March 25 date was known as Annunciation Style; the January 1 date was known as Circumcision Style, because this was the date of the Feast of the Circumcision, considered to be the eighth day of Christ's life, counting from December 25 when his birth is celebrated. This day was christened as the beginning of the New Year by Pope Gregory as he designed the Liturgical Calendar.

New Year History

The Romans dedicated New Year's Day to Janus, the god of gates, doors, and beginnings for whom the first month of the year (January) is also named. After Julius Caesar reformed the calendar in 46 BC and was subsequently murdered, the Roman Senate voted to deify him on the 1st January 42 BC in honor of his life and his institution of the new rationalized calendar. The month originally owes its name to the deity Janus, who had two faces, one looking forward and the other looking backward. This suggests that New Year's celebrations are founded on pagan traditions. Some have suggested this occurred in 153 BC, when it was stipulated that the two annual consuls (after whose names the years were identified) entered into office on that day, though no consensus exists on the matter. Dates in March, coinciding with the spring equinox, or commemorating the Annunciation of Jesus, along with a variety of Christian feast dates were used throughout the Middle Ages, though calendars often continued to display the months in columns running from January to December.

1 January: The first day of the year in the Gregorian calendar used by most countries. Eight of the twelve biggest Eastern Orthodox Churches which have adopted the Revised Julian calendar – Bulgaria, Cyprus, Egypt, Greece, Romania, Syria, and Turkey – also celebrate 1 January as the New Year.

Among the 7th century pagans of Flanders and the Netherlands, it was the custom to exchange gifts at the New Year. This was a pagan custom deplored by Saint Eligius (died 659 or 660), who warned the Flemings and Dutchmen, "(Do not) make vetulas, [little figures of the Old Woman], little deer or iotticos or set tables [for the house-elf, compare Puck] at night or exchange New Year gifts or supply superfluous drinks [another Yule custom]." The quote is from the vita of Eligius written by his companion, Ouen.

New Year's Traditions

In many countries, New Year’s celebrations begin on the evening of December 31 New Year’s Eve and continue into the early hours of January 1. Revelers often enjoy meals and snacks thought to bestow good luck for the coming year. In Spain and several other Spanish-speaking countries, people bolt down a dozen grapes-symbolizing their hopes for the months ahead-right before midnight. In many parts of the world, traditional New Year’s dishes feature legumes, which are thought to resemble coins and herald future financial success; examples include lentils in Italy and black-eyed peas in the southern United States. Because pigs represent progress and prosperity in some cultures, pork appears on the New Year’s Eve table in Cuba, Austria, Hungary, Portugal and other countries. Ring-shaped cakes and pastries, a sign that the year has come full circle, round out the feast in the Netherlands, Mexico, Greece and elsewhere. In Sweden and Norway, meanwhile, rice pudding with an almond hidden inside is served on New Year’s Eve; it is said that whoever finds the nut can expect 12 months of good fortune.

Other customs that are common worldwide include watching fireworks and singing songs to welcome the new year, including the ever-popular "Auld Lang Syne" in many English-speaking countries. The practice of making resolutions for the new year is thought to have first caught on among the ancient Babylonians, who made promises in order to earn the favor of the gods and start the year off on the right foot. (They would reportedly vow to pay off debts and return borrowed farm equipment.)

In the United States, the most iconic New Year’s tradition is the dropping of a giant ball in New York City's Times Square at the stroke of midnight. Millions of people around the world watch the event, which has taken place almost every year since 1907. Over time, the ball itself has ballooned from a 700-pound iron-and-wood orb to a brightly patterned sphere 12 feet in diameter and weighing in at nearly 12,000 pounds. Various towns and cities across America have developed their own versions of the Times Square ritual, organizing public drops of items ranging from pickles (Dillsburg, Pennsylvania) to possums (Tallapoosa, Georgia) at midnight on New Year’s Eve.

New Year Eve
January 1 represents the fresh start of a new year after a period of remembrance of the passing year, including on radio, television and in newspapers, which starts in early December in countries around the world. Publications have year-end articles that review the changes during the previous year. In some cases publications may set their entire year work alight in hope that the smoke emitted from the flame brings new life to the company. There are also articles on planned or expected changes in the coming year.

This day is traditionally a religious feast, but since the 1900s has also become an occasion to celebrate the night of December 31, called New Year's Eve. There are fireworks at midnight at the moment the new year arrives (the major one is of Sydney, New South Wales; watchnight services are also still observed by many.

Early New Year's Celebrations

The earliest recorded festivities in honor of a new year’s arrival date back some 4,000 years to ancient Babylon. For the Babylonians, the first new moon following the vernal equinox the day in late March with an equal amount of sunlight and darkness heralded the start of a new year. They marked the occasion with a massive religious festival called Akitu (derived from the Sumerian word for barley, which was cut in the spring) that involved a different ritual on each of its 11 days. In addition to the new year, Atiku celebrated the mythical victory of the Babylonian sky god Marduk over the evil sea goddess Tiamat and served an important political purpose: It was during this time that a new king was crowned or that the current ruler’s divine mandate was symbolically renewed.

Throughout antiquity, civilizations around the world developed increasingly sophisticated calendars, typically pinning the first day of the year to an agricultural or astronomical event. In Egypt, for instance, the year began with the annual flooding of the Nile, which coincided with the rising of the star Sirius. The first day of the Chinese new year, meanwhile, occurred with the second new moon after the winter solstice.

People born on New Year's Day are commonly called New Year babies. Hospitals, such as the Dyersburg Regional Medical Center in the U.S., give out prizes to the first baby born in that hospital in the new year. These prizes are often donated by local businesses. Prizes may include various baby related items such as baby formula, baby blankets, diapers, and gift certificates to stores which specialize in baby related merchandise.

New Year Wishes Quotes SMS

12 Months happiness, 52 weeks fun,
365 Days laughter, 8760 hrs good luck,
525600 Minutes joy, 31536000 seconds success,
So wishing u a Happy New Year.
As 2013 leaves,
My Pray To God Only For You.
may it take away with
it all ur sorrows & all worries.
And As 2014 arrives,
may it bring with
you unadulterated..
happiness & prosperity.

May the New Year bring you courage to break your resolutions early! My
own plan is to swear off every kind of virtue, so that I triumph even
when I fall!

“Hope Smiles from the threshold of the year to come,
Whispering 'it will be happier'...”
―
Alfred Tennyson

“For last year's words belong to last year's language
And next year's words await another voice.”
―
T.S. Eliot,
Four Quartets

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

Saturday, November 23, 2013

The Western Ghats is the home for about 50 million people belonging to the Six States of the Country. It is the source of water for the entire Peninsular India, and also influences the monsoons. The life supporting and biodiversity rich ecosystems of Western Ghats are threatened today due to habitat pressures.” Government of India setup an ecology expert panel and then a working group to come up with recommendations to protect the Western Ghats ecosystem. The recommendations report intended to be “ a starting point in a long and what could be an eventful odyssey to understand the man-environmental relations through the eyes of Western Ghats which in the view of its Creator can be a gift or a curse depending on how we judge and act..” was given a go-ahead by GOI but has met with widespread protests across the state of Kerala.

Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel(WGEEP) otherwise known as Gadgil
Commission was an environmental research commission appointed by the
Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India. The commission
submitted the report to Government of India on 31 August 2011. The
Expert Panel approached the project through a set of tasks such as
(1) Compilation of readily available information about Western Ghats (2)
Development of Geo-spacial database based on environmental sensitivity,
and (3) Consultation with Government bodies and Civil society groups. The commission recommends constitution (Parliament bill) of a Western
Ghats Ecology Authority (WGEA), as a statutory authority under the
Ministry of Environment and Forests, with the powers under Section 3 of
the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

The Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), informally called Mangalyaan (Sanskrit: मङ्गलयान, English: Mars-craft) is a Mars orbiter that was successfully launched on 5th November 2013 by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The mission is a "technology demonstrator" project aiming to develop the technologies required for design, planning, management and operations of an interplanetary mission.

The Mars Orbiter Mission probe lifted-off from First Launch Pad at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, using a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket C-25 at 2:38 PM IST (9:08 UTC) on November 5, 2013.[10].The launch window available is for about 20 days starting 28 October.[3]The official countdown for blast-off of the Indian orbiter, nicknamed "Mangalyaan", began at 06:08 am on November 3, 2013 and ended with the successful completion of the automatic launch sequence and launch of the PSLV C-25 rocket. This is India's first mission to Mars.

The main objective of this first Indian mission to Mars is to develop the technologies required for design, planning, management and operations of an interplanetary mission, comprising the following major tasks:

The government of India approved the project on 3 August 2012, after the Indian Space Research Organisation completed INR1.25 billion (US$19 million) of required studies for the orbiter. The total project cost may be up to INR4.54 billion (US$69 million). The space agency had initially planned the launch on 28 October 2013 but was postponed to 5 November 2013 following the inability of ISRO's spacecraft tracking ships to take up pre-determined positions due to poor weather in the Pacific ocean. Launch opportunities for a fuel-saving Hohmann transfer orbit occur about every 26 months, in this case, 2016 and 2018. If successful, ISRO would become the fourth space agency to reach Mars, after Roscosmos, NASA, and ESA.

The Indian Deep Space Network will perform navigation and tracking operations of this mission, while NASA's Deep Space Network will provide support services during the non-visible period of the Indian government Network. Additional monitoring will be provided by Shipping Corporation of India's tracking ships SCI Nalanda and SCI Yamuna which are currently in position in the South Pacific, off Fiji, during the initial phases of the launch and the separation of the spacecraft from the fourth stage of the rocket.

The space agency will use its PSLV-XL (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) rocket. The November 2013 launch will place the Mars Orbiter Mission into Earth orbit, then six engine firings on 6, 7, 8, 9, 11 and 16 of November will raise that orbit to one with an apogee of 23,000 kilometres (14,000 mi) and a perigee of 238 kilometres (148 mi) where it will remain for about 25 days. A final firing in 30 November 2013 will send MOM onto an interplanetary trajectory. Mars orbit insertion is planned for 24 September 2014 02:34 and would allow the spacecraft to enter a highly elliptical orbit with a period of 76.72 hours and a periapsis of 377 kilometres (234 mi) and apo-apsis of 80,000 kilometres (50,000 mi) around Mars.
The spacecraft's dry mass is 500 kilograms (1,100 lb), and it will carry 850 kilograms (1,870 lb) of propellant and oxidiser. The main engine uses the bipropellant combination monomethylhydrazine and dinitrogen tetroxide for orbit insertion and other manoeuvres. The probe is expected to arrive in Mars orbit in September 2014 approximately at the same time as NASA's MAVEN orbiter.

Sunday, September 15, 2013

ഹൃദയം നിറഞ്ഞ ഓണാശംസകള്‍

by G. Binukumar&Family

Wish You All A Happy & Prosperous Onam

Onam is a Hindu festival, celebrated by the people of Kerala in India. Also known as Vamana Jayanti, it solemnizes the Vamana avatar of Vishnu and the homecomingof the legendary Emperor Mahabali. The festival falls in the month of Chingam and lasts for ten days.

The festival is acknowledged for its colorful and vibrant celebrations like Onnapotan (a Kerela art form), Puli Kali (Masked
leopard dance), intricate flower carpets and the like. Besides these
festivities, prayers are being offered in Hindu temples by Hindus and
the non-Hindus are not allowed to enter the sacred temples. Onam is a
venerated feast for Mahabali, a revered figure since the primordial
times.

The celebrations of Onam begin on the Atham day, ten days before Thiruvonam.The ten respective days of festivity startwith Atham,
followed by Chithira that makes way for Chodi, in succession comes
Vishakam subsequently followed by Anizham, Thriketa, Moolam, Pooradam,
Uthradom and finally comes, Thiruvonam, also known as “Second Onam”.
Colors, flowers, new clothes, performing various folk-dance and other
cultural activities become the hallmark of Onam. It is the picturesque
fervor that adds to the dramatic element in Onam.

It
is amazing to see the legacy of Onam going in the modern times. It’s a
ritual that marks the succession of the Keralite traditions and customs.
People who cannot make it to the festival send their loved ones
greeting cards, online and through mails.

Greeting
cards in Onam keeps the spirit of the festival alive in people near or
far. The festival of color and flowers has gained immense popularity.
Thus, the ongoing revelry and rejoice!